CM Arvind Kejriwal invites Amit Shah for debate before polls

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday invited Union home minister Amit Shah for an open debate after BJP ignored a “1pm deadline” set by him to reveal its chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi elections. “Amit Shah ji should come and debate with us at a place and time of his choosing. I will debate with him on every issue he wants to talk about,” Kejriwal said.
He said the people of Delhi had a lot of questions on their minds.“Let us have an open and honest debate. Debate is good for democracy. There will be one anchor from our side and another from yours,” Kejriwal proposed.
He said BJP should at least declare the likely candidates for the chief minister’s post. “If you can’t tell who your chief minister face is, at least announce your likely candidates. Whether it’s Vijay Goel, Manoj Tiwari, Hardeep Singh Puri, Harsh Vardhan ji, or Smriti Irani... people should know before they cast their vote,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP national convener also wondered why BJP did not clear the roads near Shaheen Bagh, where a public protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was on for nearly two months, and said the party was doing “dirty politics” over the issue to grab power in the capital. “The entire country is watching that for the sole aim of winning the elections, you have inconvenienced the people living there,” he said.
Responding to media queries on the alleged links of Shaheen Bagh attacker Kapil Baisla’s with Aam Aadmi Party, the CM said: “If the attacker is found to have links with AAP, he should be punished with 20 years of imprisonment and not 10. Don’t play dirty politics over national security. People understand your intentions.”
On the Prime Minister’s announcement of a Ram Temple Trust just ahead of polls in Delhi, Kejriwal said: “I welcome this development and congratulate the people of India. There is no bad timing for good work and I don’t object to its timing. Make more good announcements.”
Talking about BJP’s election campaign, the CM said that India could never develop by playing Hindu-Muslim politics. “We want to make a 21st-century India. Our country has all the resources, but our system and politics are wrong. Education and infrastructure (development) is the only way forward. India can never develop by doing Hindu (politics).”
In a dig at Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath who had claimed that Kejriwal was now reciting Hanuman Chalisa as he feared losing the elections, the CM said: “BJP should also chant Hanuman Chalisa... if they do it regularly, they will get peace of mind...”
He slammed Shah for seeking votes in Delhi by claiming that Bharatiya Janata Party had abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and paved the way for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “They have already received votes for these issues in the general election. What did they do for Delhi in the last five years? Why should people vote for them in Delhi?” he asked.
He also questioned BJP’s performance in the corporations in last the 15 years. “Why are they against the free services being provided to the people of Delhi and why do they want to end them?” he asked.
The chief minister said BJP called him a terrorist, but didn’t give any proof. “How is this son of Delhi a terrorist? Prakash Javadekar says he has proof... bring it out in public domain,” he retorted.